Carter says don't forget the tsunami
Former US president Jimmy Carter with a brick he signed during a visit to the village of Thachatchai in Phuket.
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Former US President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn yesterday visited a housing project for tsunami victims in Phuket, and called on the public not to forget what had happened to the region.
Carter spent nearly two hours in Thachatchai village, which was struck by huge tsunami waves in December 2004. The villagers were offered help to re-build their houses by Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit organisation dedicated to constructing decent affordable housing for low-income families. The organisation has built some 91 homes and repaired five others for villagers. Carter said he was impressed by the work of both villagers and the group. "We come from America to work with you and see what you have done. But this is not a sacrifice. It is a great honour and pleasure for us to come here. We are impressed by the beauty of initiatives you have taken to repair the village," said Carter to the villagers. He hoped his visit would draw attention to the fact that many were still suffering from the tsunami. "After two years, people tend to look at other things and forget what happened here," Carter said. During his two-hour visit, Carter inspected a site where workers make interlocking earth blocks, to build houses in the village. It is also a livelihood development project to boost locals' entrepreneurial skills and help them make a living.
Sopaporn Kurz The Nation Phuket
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